A Pastor's Thoughts by Mike Trimble

December 16, 2006

Freedom

One of my favorite lines from the movie Braveheart was when Wallace screamed out "FREEDOM!". Mel Gibson is a great actor in my opinion, but that one particular line sent chills up my spine. I haven't seen this movie in years but I have it on DVD and I think I might watch it this afternoon. That line from the movie for some reason though is stuck in my head this weekend.

American Canyon Christian Academy, our Christian school at Harvest Church, is out for Christmas vacation and so I'm sure that is part of the the reason I keep wanting to scream out like Wallace, "FREEDOM!". Our staff and students will have a little freedom to enjoy for the next few weeks. I will have a little more freedom to be about the pastor business for a few weeks.

Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Harvest will be hosting a Free Preview of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. This is a sneak peak at the 13 week course we will be offering starting January 14th. My prayer is that more of our families will join Wallace's shout "FREEDOM!" by getting out of debt in 2007. Debt is bondage. There is nothing worse than being tied down by debt.

One of the things I enjoy about Harvest Church is freedom. We are free to worship God. It is wonderful to be free to do things differently. Different schedules, different styles of worship, different atmospheres. It is great to have the freedom to try new things! I think for a while I was in bondage to traditions and was afraid to do anything other than what I had always been taught. I am feeling a new sense of freedom in ministry these days. My purpose remains the same, I want to reach men, women, boys, and girls with the Good News! I am free however to change the methods we use to accomplish the purpose. Maybe we should all paint our face and shout with Wallace, "FREEDOM!", when it comes to ministry.

So there you have it. Do I sound nuts? I'm going to start a fire and watch Braveheart now. Then I'm going to watch, It's A Wonderful Life. I 've never seen it, but I ran across an article by John Maxwell that made me want to. After watching these two movies I will be fired up and in the Christmas spirit for the children's Christmas program tonight! See you there?